1884 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



127 



L.ETTER FROM JAPAN. 



1$V A LITTLE raUL ONLY ELEVEN YEARS OLD. 



^ipl^BAR Mil. KOOT:— You have so kiadlj' sent 

 P|J1 us Gleanings for such a long- time, that I 

 '^^ thought I wouM write to thank you. Though 

 we do not keep bees, we enjny reading your .iournal 

 very much. Papa had a hive of bees when we were 

 in America, but it is such a long time since we left 

 our home there, that I have forgotten nearly all 



not use tables to sit around at meal-time, as we do, 

 but each individual has a small stand about the size 

 of an ottoman, with a rim around about an inch 

 high. The ladies sit on their legs as if kneeling, but 

 the men cross them in Turkish style. Their rooms 

 are small; some so small they will not admit a bed- 

 stead. The Japanese think that bedsteads are very 

 funny, and that beds are very soft and springy. One 

 of my,"acquaintances said she would be afraid of fall- 

 ing otf, if she slept on one, and at first she was quite 



about them. Pjpa often thmight of writing to thank 

 you for sending Gleanings, but ahvaj^had st) much 

 to do with his mission work that ne nad no ume to 

 do so. But my dear papa died five months ago. Ho 

 took sick from a poor woman he was attending. 



The Japanese do not use honey for food; however, 

 they have a " l)ee pyruj) " which they use as medi- 

 cine. They consider it poisonous to eat with food. 



The Japanese eat rice and fish a great deal. They 

 use the bulbs of the lily and lotus flower. They do 



aliaid to '-It on a iiKkmg thair On one occasion a 

 bei\ant cmploMd in a li)uign lanulj had some rela- 

 tives Pity hei a \.s.t, and they thought e\ory thing 

 was very strange, especially sofas and chairs. The 

 Japanese men have adopted the foreign style of 

 dross a great deal. Cadets, soldiers, cllicials, and 

 young men in government service have foreign 

 dross entirely. But the way some of them stalk 

 along the streets with a short-wuisted coat, small 

 and tight pantaloons, and ill-shaped shoes, with a 



